After three decades in Lowertown, Golden’s closes its restaurant doors to return to its Market Stand roots

September 7th, 2017For Immediate Release

L-R: Myles, Will, and Berit Golden working Golden’s Summer Farmers’ Market Bagel Stand.Golden’s Lowertown, Saint Paul, MN—Twenty years since opening a permanent Lowertown deli location on Wall Street, between 4th and 5th streets, Golden’s is closing its restaurant doors to return to doing what we do best—selling fresh bagels made with ingredients from local farms!

It was 1984 when Jim Golden and his brother David first began selling bagels on the campuses of the University of St. Thomas and Macalester College. Seeing how popular the sandwiches were, Jim brought the bagel stand to the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market in Lowertown, where it quickly became a fixture, offering bagels topped with farmers’ market ingredients, fair trade coffee, organic teas, and freshly-squeezed lemonade. Golden’s market stand continues to be busy every weekend. Market Stand reviews from the local media follow this press release.

“It’s been an honor to have been part of the Lowertown community these last 20 years,” Jim Golden says. “As well as bringing locally-sourced food to the neighborhood, we have hosted literally thousands of events featuring Lowertown actors, artists, dancers, filmmakers, musicians, photographers, poets, and writers. We hosted thousands of local organizations’ meetings throughout the years, saw the team of Saint Paul Almanac Community Editors discuss, debate, and decide what made it into the annual books, and in the last year held fundraisers for #NoDAPL Water Protectors, Syrian refugees, and the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota. There was always something going on.”

“For the last six years, we hosted an open mic—The Golden Mic—that saw literally hundreds of local musicians perform, giving them a chance both to play their music in front of an audience and to network with other musicians. While we’ll miss being right in the middle of that, and having a venue to create opportunities for the local creative community, we’re very grateful to be remaining part of the Lowertown neighborhood.”

While Golden’s restaurant is closed permanently as of today, Golden’s Market Bagel Stand can be found at the top end of the middle green shed in the summer Saint Paul Farmers’ Market every weekend. Come visit us for a bagel and coffee every Saturday morning from 7am-1pm and every Sunday morning from 8am-1pm!

Golden’s former location, in the Northwestern Building at 275 E. 4th Street, will see a new restaurant open later this Fall. Lowertown neighbor and Union Depot resident Kari Richtsmeier will debut Biergarten Germania, featuring cuisines from the historic region of Germania, offering a variety of dishes from Germany, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands.

With a delicious Central European menu, modern beer hall-styled furnishings built by Lowertown artists, and European soccer matches shown on an inflatable jumbo screen, Biergarten Germania is bringing something new and exciting to Lowertown’s existing bar and restaurant scene. Website coming soon at BiergartenGermania.com.

The new restaurant will continue to serve Golden’s catering clients with the same Golden’s catering menu. As always, please contact us for more information or to place an order: (P) 651-224-8888 or (F) 651-298-9144.

Jim Golden and all the staff of Golden’s Lowertown wish to extend a sincere thank you to all of our customers and the members of the local community who have supported us throughout the years. Come see us for a bagel, a coffee, and a chat at the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market next weekend!

Press Reviews of Golden’s Market Bagel Stand

[Golden’s bagel] cart’s origins go back more than 30 years. It was the 1980s, and owner Jim Golden and his brother had just graduated from the University of Minnesota and Augsburg, respectively. They decided to canoe from the Twin Cities down to New Orleans, and at a stop in Grafton, Ill., Golden says, “We saw this guy selling bagels outside a reggae bar. And he’d only work two hours a night.” For two recent graduates, this sounded like a great business plan, so they brought the model back to the campuses of the University of St. Thomas and Macalester College in 1984. It quickly gained a following. Golden brought the cart down to the farmers market by 1985 and says, “I haven’t really missed a Saturday since. It was a good fit, because our stuff is fresh,” he says. “We were doing the farmers market, farm-to-table back in the ’80s. And why wouldn’t you? —Saint Paul Magazine

Lowertown is the place to visit on weekend mornings between late April and November, when a bustling farmers’ market offers a dazzling array of local food and crafts that originate from within one hundred miles of Saint Paul. Farmers offer fresh vegetables and cut flowers; other local merchants sell artisan chocolates, salsas, cheeses, and meats from nearby farms. [Golden’s] pop-up bagel shop serves coffee and lemonade, and there’s often entertainment—music, storytelling, and magicians. —Saint Paul Almanac

Owner Jim Golden uses vegetables from the market when possible and locally raised eggs and ham from vendors who are “just across the aisle.” In the past few years, Golden has begun to offer brats and hot dogs from Prairie Pride Farm, which also supplies Golden’s ham. The brats — plump, juicy and perfectly spiced — pass muster with this Wisconsin native. Topped with a little sauerkraut and some spicy mustard, they are a great lunch if you manage to save enough room. Golden’s also serves a rich, strong cold-press coffee made with Cafe Palmira beans and the best lemonade in the Twin Cities — freshly squeezed, tart and not too sweet. —Saint Paul Pioneer Press

The fresh-squeezed lemonade is an air conditioner in a cup. —Minneapolis Star Tribune

Any trip to the St. Paul Farmers’ Market must include a Market Favorite — a bagel loaded with a fried egg, two thick slices of ham, cheddar cheese and all the toppings you can cram on a sandwich.The eggs and many of the vegetables come from the market, and the picnic benches in the center of the block make a great people-watching spot. —Saint Paul Pioneer Press

Everything bagel wrapped around cream cheese, smoked salmon, cheddar cheese, an egg, and tomato is a handy breakfast while perusing the nearby farmer’s market, exploring Lowertown, or for imparting serious morning breath with which to taunt your coworkers. —”Outstanding Egg Sandwiches in Minneapolis and St. Paul”, Minneapolis Eater